One Late Night
by Britt30
Summary: Has anyone seen that headcanon that they haven't been able to find Bucky at all, and then one night he randomly appears in Tony's kitchen and asks for help? This is that, but written out... with detail... so you should read it. Please. One-shot.


Tony flipped the stove light on in the kitchen and went about making some coffee. He groaned and rubbed his eyes tiredly before resting his head on the counter. This project was killing him, but he had promised Steve he would keep looking. His mind wandered to earlier that week.

 _Steve stomped into the kitchen looking dirty and frustrated. Natasha had sauntered in after him, looking just as dirty. Clint looked up from his spot on the couch._

 _"_ _No luck?" he asked._

 _"_ _Not even a clue," Steve said through clenched teeth._

 _"_ _Capsicle, chill," Tony said. "He'll turn up when he wants to." Steve opened his mouth to shout something, but Natasha's hand on his shoulder stopped him. He deflated with a heavy sigh._

 _"_ _You're right. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop looking," he said as he headed towards the showers. Once he left the others looked at Natasha for more of an explanation._

 _"_ _This guy is good," she said. "Better than anyone I've ever seen. He never leaves a trace. Trust me, if we ever find him, it will be on his terms."_

 _The rest of the week had resulted in failed mission after failed mission. Steve was slowly losing hope and Natasha was becoming frustrated with her inability to find Steve's friend._

Although, Tony reminded himself as he poured a cup of coffee, this had been going on for more than just one week. Try nearly four months. Seriously, he thought as he took a sip of his drink and turned around, this guy must be-

He nearly spit his coffee everywhere. He managed to keep it in and even swallow, never taking his eyes off of the man sitting at his kitchen table.

The Winter Soldier looked worn out. His hair was tangled, a good scruff was growing on his chin, he was thin, and battered and bruised. Moving carefully, he lifted his metal arm and held it out to Tony.

"I can't fix it myself," he whispered hoarsely.

"Um. I'm gonna go get Steve," Tony said moving towards the door.

"Don't," Bucky said quietly. "Please. Not yet." Tony stopped moving and observed the man in front of him warily.

"Why not? Do you know how hard he's been looking for you?"

"Of course I do. But this," he said flexing his metal arm, "is my biggest problem right now."

"Why?" Tony asked, moving closer against his will. "What's wrong with it?" He couldn't deny, it was a beautiful piece of machinery.

"It's got a tracker in it first of all and it got damaged. The strength is mostly gone and it doesn't react like it's meant to. Can you fix it?" Tony pulled over a chair and looked at it closer. Grabbing a screwdriver from his belt he was about to open it up when he felt Bucky tense. He glanced up at the Winter Soldier who looked as if he were trying to hold back panic.

"Bad memories?" he asked gently.

"More than I care to remember."

"Will you feel it if I open it?" The assassin shook his head. "Then just close your eyes and breathe deeply while I look at it." Bucky glared at him for a moment before accepting his advice and doing as he was told.

Tony pried off a panel of his arm and whistled appreciatively at the wiring in there. Grabbing some other tools he set to work, poking and prodding, figuring out what went where, before actually rewiring and debugging the mechanism. Finally, he oiled the gears and put the panel back on.

"Ok. It should work now."

"Good." Suddenly that hand was around his throat, squeezing the life out of him. "For the record, that car crash that killed your parents, that was me."

Tony clawed at the metal arm fruitlessly as he felt his life quickly slipping away.

"Jarvis," he tried to choke out, but wasn't really sure if it worked. Alarms started to blare and the assassin dropped him, quickly escaping into the night. Tony was already gone.

 _ **Or...**_

"Good." He stood and moved to leave. "Don't tell Steve I've been here. There are still some things I'm taking care of."

"Right. Sure thing. Just don't keep him waiting too long. He's working us to death." He was surprised to actually see the Winter Soldier smile. Then he turned the corner and disappeared. Tony listened for any sign that he was still there, and when he found none, he quietly said, "Jarvis?"

"Yes sir?"

"Enable tracking device."

"Of course sir." A screen slid down, showing a small blip crossing the city. Tony smiled and took a sip of his coffee.

Steve would thank him in the morning. And hopefully be grateful enough to stop his ex-assassin best friend from killing him.


End file.
